Tags: CO2-temperature lag

“Taking 1998 as the starting year is a joke. Why not 1997 or 1999? Anyone doing this gets an ‘F’ grade in introductory statistics.” — Pieter Tans, a climate scientist who worked on the 2013 IPCC report.

Does the pre-historic lag between temperature and CO2 rise mean CO2 can't affect temperature? No. An auto turbocharger kicks in only after the engine starts, but you can't explain the car's speed without it. Similarly, in earth's past, CO2 rise kicked in following slight initial warmings, but you can't explain de-glaciation without it.

In order to prevent climate change, the world has to switch from high-carbon, polluting, power generation; to new, low-carbon generating capacity. So in order to benefit in the long-term we need a huge building programme which unfortunately, in the short-term, will create a significant increase in CO2 emissions.
It's like being caught by the hook of a fossil-fuel-powered crane which has lifted us off the ground. We know that when we eventually fall, the higher we are off the ground the more it will hurt. So the sooner we get off the hook the better—but, ironically, we must pull ourselves higher to lift ourselves off. Perhaps we can call this dilemma, the 'energy hook'.

'No warming in 15 years' is like arguing your car is broken down because it hasn't moved in the 15 seconds while you stopped at a red light.' — Dana Nuccitelli, an environmental scientist at a private environmental consulting firm in the Sacramento, California area.

'When you focus on just atmospheric heat to measure global warming, it's like tracking the tip of your dog’s tail to determine its location, instead of the body of the dog.' — Greg Laden, biological anthropologist and science communicator.

“Climate Change is not just another issue. It is an issue that if left unchecked, will swamp all other issues.” — Ross Gelbspan, writer and activist. He wrote two books on global warming: The Heat Is On (1997) and Boiling Point (2004)

"Unfortunately, the focus remains mostly on “global warming” instead of on the bigger concern—that we are disrupting the planet’s climate in completely unpredictable ways." — Ajit Varki and Danny Brower, writers of the 2013 book, "Denial: Self-Deception, False Beliefs, and the Origins of the Human Mind."

"Climate change has taken on political dimensions...That's odd because I don't see people choosing sides over E = mc2 or other fundamental facts of science." — Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, Host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.